Letters to the Editor - April 1

April 01, 2013

Leaders’ choices will affect future downtown development

To the editor:

We as a city and community are at a crossroads as we currently sit squarely on the cusp of letting what we so desperately need in regard to revitalization go the other way. We have two golden opportunities to rejuvenate our downtown; however, the progression or demise of these projects will alter the course of our town’s development for years to come.

The proposed stadium has been discussed for more than a year, with the latest conception having it built on the east end of town. The idea to invest in a project of this magnitude outside downtown would be a travesty and major disappointment.

Developing an area currently not in demand when the area with the most urgency is downtown is just poor planning and careless leadership at best. Opposition appears to have no clear reality on what this development could mean to downtown, i.e. reduced crime, additional development opportunities, increased property values and a broader tax base, just for starters.

The potential relocation of the Washington County Board of Education to downtown would be a significant move in obtaining a sizable employer to the city center. As written by our mayor and council, the “City’s willingness to acquire the site, demolish existing buildings, reduce procedural and utility burdens, and provide parking and other infrastructure and amenities” are all great starting points.

However the time is now. The red carpet needs to be rolled out from the BOE’s steps on Commonwealth Avenue over to the Suns on Memorial Boulevard, with the continuation straight to downtown.

Either positively or negatively, the decisions of our current leadership will define the future of our city for years to come. I, for one, implore our leaders to move us forward and embrace these possibilities rather than squander the opportunity to see our unique town flourish.

Paul CordermanHagerstown

Governments have no right to redefine marriage

To the editor:

In all the posturing over gay marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), it seems to me that one very important truth has been forgotten or is being intentionally ignored.

Marriage is not a civil right, it is a religious rite. It was instituted at creation, by God, in the Garden of Eden when he united Eve to Adam, one man and one woman.

Genesis 1:26-28 says:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Governments and societies can recognize it, adopt it and use it for the good of the family and society if they wish; but they have no right to redefine it.

Edward JamesHancock

Sequestration not to blame for tower closures

To the editor:

March 29, The Herald Mail, “Airport tower closure concerns business”: “Businesses at Hagerstown Regional Airport have expressed concerns about the potential closure of the airport’s air-traffic control tower as a result of federal budget cuts.”

March 28, The Herald Mail, “Editorial by John K. Delaney, Democrat, 6th District, House of Representatives”: “The indiscriminate budget cuts known as “sequestration” will soon be felt in Maryland and in Washington County. Last week it was announced that air-traffic control towers at the Hagerstown and Frederick airports will likely be closed.”

March 23, The Herald Mail, “Airport tower on closing list”: “The control tower at Hagerstown Regional Airport is included on a list of 149 regional airport control towers that will close because of federal budget cuts known as sequestration, the FAA announced Friday afternoon.”

The sequester would reduce federal spending in the 2013 fiscal year by $85 billion (and by a total of $1.2 trillion over 10 years). The federal government will spend about $3.55 trillion this year, so $85 billion amounts to about a 2.4 percent cut in all federal spending.

Let’s be clear: There have been no actual spending cuts since Obama became president.

In 2010, the federal government spent $3.45 trillion. Last year, we spent $3.54 trillion and outlays for the first four months of fiscal year 2013 are $39.3 billion more than in the first four months of fiscal year 2012.

The federal government will spend more each year despite “sequestration cuts.” The sequestration has only reduced the rate of increase in the federal budget; the feds will spend more this year than last and more next year than this year.

There is no reason to blame sequestration (other than politics) for the closing of air-traffic control towers.